In the institutional, industrial and hospitality industries, cleaning of hard surfaces such as metal, painted metal, glass and tile is a labor intensive activity. Such surfaces commonly appear in kitchens, bathrooms, food preparation and manufacturing locations, fast food restaurants, cars, etc. Commonly, in cleaning such surfaces the maintenance personnel apply an aqueous cleaner composition to the surface either in a foamed or non-foamed aqueous composition. Soil is then mechanically contacted with scrub brushes, cleaning towels and other cleaning implements. The soil and the cleaning material is rinsed and the remaining rinse water is often removed by wiping, squeegee, or other processes in which the maintenance personnel remove remaining water spots. The last wiping/squeegee step is important to ensure that the hard surface dries to a shiny, bright, spot-free, streak-free and film-free appearance.
In installations having many hard surfaces requiring periodic cleaning on a daily, weekly, etc. basis, the investment in labor, energy and cost is significant. Any reduction in the time, energy and materials used in hard surface maintenance will substantially improve productivity and reduce costs. One important step in hard surface maintenance is the final wiping or squeegeeing of hard surfaces to remove the aqueous rinse. Such operations can consume a substantial proportion, typically between 10 and 30%, of the time involved in hard surface maintenance in most institutional, industrial, hospitality locations. Elimination of the final squeegee/wipe step can obviously save substantial time, effort and money. In typical hard surface maintenance, the final wiping/squeegeeing step is required. No cleaner currently available provides for a simple spray application which dries to a bright, clear, shiny surface without spotting, streaking or film development. A substantial need exists for such a finish cleaner that can be used alone or with other cleaners to remove soil from hard surfaces leaving a shiny, spot-, streak- and film-free appearance.
In the prior art, attempts have been made to use modified silicones, hydrophobic mineral oils and other hydrophobic means to increase the tendency of aqueous materials to drain from a clean surface. We have found that the hydrophobic materials surprisingly increase surface energy and retain water as droplets of various sizes, rather than causing the water to sheet or drain freely. In using such hydrophobic materials, cleaning stations such as car washes tend to use forced air to coalesce and remove droplets or to remove water using chamois, squeegee or towel. Black, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,536,452 and 5,587,022 teach a spray-on material used after showering that is formulated to maintain shower appearance. Such materials do not operate as a finish cleaner composition and simply are formulated to reduce the accumulation of new soil on a shower location. The compositions contain a specific surfactant and volatile cleaner materials to promote drying.
Accordingly, a substantial need exists for improved cleaning compositions and in particular for a finish cleaner composition that can be used after an initial cleaning step which can, after a spray on application, dry to a clean, bright, shiny appearance with no spotting, streaking or film residue. Such a cleaner can save significant time and money and can improve the appearance of hospitality locations.